Inauguration Ceremony Held at JBU

Siloam Springs, Ark. (October 4, 2004) - Some might think that Pomp and Circumstance is in the air at John Brown University with all the robes, mortarboards and tassels. No, it’s not fall commencement; it’s the inauguration ceremony for JBU’s sixth president, Dr. Charles W. Pollard. The formal ceremony will be held as part of Homecoming Weekend on Friday, Oct. 8. The service will start promptly at 10:30 a.m. in the Walton Lifetime Health Complex. Alumni and friends are encouraged attend.
Special participants in the inauguration ceremony include the members of the class of 1954. For some, it will be their first time to put on a robe, mortarboard and tassel since they graduated.
“JBU’s alumni are the living legacy of the university’s mission,” Pollard said. “The class of 1954 graduated 50 years ago, and they have spent a lifetime in service to others. It is fitting to give them a place of prominence in the inauguration ceremony to symbolize their importance to the institution.”
Arkansas first lady, Janet Huckabee, will also participate in the inauguration ceremony by greeting alumni and special guests. Huckabee graduated from JBU in 2003 through the Advance Program.
The excitement of the ceremony will begin with a procession of special guests and university delegates. The chief marshal, Dr. Ed Ericson, JBU’s vice president for academic affairs, will lead the processional. He will be followed by 53 brightly colored flags representing the home countries of JBU’s international students as well as students whose parents are missionaries.
Dr. Hudson Armerding, former president of Wheaton College (Ill.), will bring a message to President Pollard followed by formal charges from the faculty, students and alumni. Dr. Pollard will draw the event to a close with his inaugural address titled, “In My Beginning is My End….In My End is My Beginning.”
All guests are welcome to a complimentary lunch on the lawn immediately following the ceremony.
In addition to the inauguration ceremony, many reunions and other activities are scheduled through Saturday as part of Homecoming 2004. For more information visit: www.jbu.edu/alumni/homecoming.
John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked eighth by U.S. News & World Report in the Southern Region. JBU enrolls more than 1,900 students from 43 states and 40 countries. JBU is a member of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
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